It's Inevitable
by shippershape
Summary: Felicity has had feelings for Oliver for a while. She knows she should ignore them, especially considering she's working even closer with Oliver than before. Does he feel anything for her? Even if he did would anything other than friendship be way too complicated for them? Please review, usually the more reviews the quicker the updates! T for now, may go up.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

I'm new to this fandom, and I have to say I was really excited to see how many well written fics there were! As soon as I started watching this show I loved Olicity, so this fic is 100% Olicity. This is only my second fic and I wasn't sure if I wanted to take on a second multi-chapter fic since I haven't wrapped up the other one yet (it's called One Day at A Time if there are any McSwarek fans out there) so I'll decide whether or not to extend this one based on the response this one-shot ish chapter gets. I really hope you like it, please review!

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"We are not doing this. Not today, no, no, no!" Felicity let out a shriek of frustration as her fingers flew across the keyboard in front of her, battling with her usual cyber demons. Emitting an impatient hum, she worked furiously for a few moments, before finally sitting back in her seat, letting a triumphant smile spread across her face. She glanced at the clock on her screen, and sighed as she realized she had lost track of the time, and had been working for hours. A growling from her stomach reminded her that she had also forgotten lunch. Shaking her head, and promising herself for the third time that week that she would stop letting work take over her life like this, she stood to grab her coat. As she picked it up, Felicity couldn't help but run her fingers over the fabric, admiring it. The black trench had been an impulse buy, not her usual style, but she had justified it by telling herself that she needed a new, more professional wardrobe now that she was Oliver's assistant. Turning to check if the system update she was running was complete, Felicity bumped the vase of purple orchids sitting on her desk. The vase wobbled dangerously and she dove at it with a startled yelp. Her first instinct was to protect the computer, and as a result she ended up on the ground with a lap full of water and flowers. She was still sitting on the ground, wet and irritated, when she heard a familiar voice.

"Felicity?" Oliver's voice floated from somewhere near the door. Felicity couldn't see him, but she was willing to bet that he was making the face he always made when he was afraid to find out what kind of situation she had gotten herself into. His face suddenly popped into view above her, and she pointedly ignored the amused smile that he was not at all trying to hide. "Should I even ask?" He reached out for her, and she grabbed his hand. She tried very hard not to think about the slight electric charge she always felt when he touched her. He pulled her to her feet with ease, and took in the sight of her soaked blouse and mussed hair. Felicity looked away, resigned to the fact that he always appeared at the most inopportune times. Any time she managed to make a fool of herself and looked a mess he would suddenly sweep in, looking perfect and together, every part the sexy billionaire playboy. She pulled her hand out of his grasp and glanced down at her ruined outfit in dismay.

"Of course." She muttered, shaking her head in disgust. This was a typical day in the life of Felicity Smoake, long hours of flexing her nerdy, but well-developed techie muscles, followed by some sort of inevitable personal mishap. It was becoming a pattern, one that occurred much more often that was comfortable with.

"You know, if you liked the smell of the orchids so much, you could have just bought some perfume. You don't have to bathe in them." His lips twitched with mirth, but the glare Felicity gave him stopped him from laughing out loud.

"Very funny. I need to use your bathroom." She pushed past him and turned into his office, separated from hers only by a wall of glass, and stepped into his personal bathroom. She didn't spend much time in here, she usually used the executive bathroom in the lounge, but she didn't much feel like walking the halls soaking wet and covered in green plant bits. Surveying herself in the mirror, Felicity let out a groan of exasperation. She had been expecting to look a mess, but she hadn't been expecting it to be quite so bad. Her hair was relatively intact, which made sense considering she had only fallen onto her back, but her white blouse was completely soaked, and even worse, completely transparent. The black bra she wore underneath, she had run out of nude ones and she always found black to be preferable to white under a white shirt, was visible in every minute detail, right down to the green lace that swathed both cups and her back. She cringed at the knowledge that Oliver had seen it, then shifted uncomfortably as the dampness in her skirt began to seep into her underwear. Desperate to rid herself of the wet clothing, Felicity unbuttoned her blouse and peeled off her black pencil skirt, which was clinging wetly to her legs. Standing in nothing but a slightly damp bra and underwear, she scowled at her reflection in the mirror and resolved to start keeping extra clothes at the office in case of similar incidents in the future. Realizing she had no other option, she opened the bathroom door just a crack, and stuck her head out. She spotted Oliver through the glass wall, kneeling behind her desk. She wondered briefly what he was doing until she saw him place a purple blossom on the desk, and smiled. A staff full of custodians and he was cleaning up after her. Something about the fact that he always seemed to be willing to clean up her messes made her heart flutter in her chest. Shaking away the thought, Felicity called out to him.

"Oliver!" His head snapped up, and he stared at her face, floating midair, before standing and walking over to the bathroom door.

"Felicity, what are you doing?" His lips quirked, but he didn't say anything else.

"I need you to grab me my coat, it's just on the floor behind my desk. I don't think it got wet." He didn't respond, but turned and went to retrieve it. As he walked back towards her, he inspected the coat, and when he reached the door he gave her a puzzled look. "What?" She was disconcerted by the way he was frowning at her. Did he have a problem with her wardrobe?

"It's just not your normal style, that's all." She gaped at him, shocked that he paid enough attention to know her style, let alone pick up on the one thing in her wardrobe that she had specifically picked because it was different from the rest of her closet.

"I… well, I thought the executive assistant to Oliver Queen would need some dressier clothes." She squinted at him as she answered, wondering if she would ever stop being surprised by him. She carefully stuck one arm out of the door, and he handed her the jacket. She retreated back into the bathroom, and pinched the material of her bra between her fingers. It wasn't too wet, neither were her underwear, and she left them on with a sense of relief. Glancing back in the mirror, she let her hair, which had been disrupted when she slid her head through the crack of the door, out of her ponytail. It fell to her shoulders, and the slight wave left from being pulled up looked alright, so she left it down. She grabbed her coat and pulled it on, noting that it was barely long enough to be decent. She had never noticed how short it was, since the skirts she wore underneath were always longer, and she had never considered her usual hemline modest. She tied the jacket securely at the waist, wincing when she realized the neckline the collar provided wasn't exactly modest either. Taking in the final result, Felicity sighed. The jacket wasn't so short that it was completely apparent that she wasn't wearing anything underneath, but it certainly suggested it, either that or she would have to be wearing the world's shortest dress. It was better than nothing, she relented, so it would have to do. With one last glance in the mirror to make sure everything vital was covered, Felicity folded her shirt and skirt, and held the dripping clothes at arms length as she pushed open the door.

Oliver was sitting at his desk, having decided to get some work done while Felicity cleaned herself up in his bathroom. So far, he was having very little success. His mind kept flashing him images of Felicity, soaking wet, lying on the floor. When he had first come in, he had caught just the end of her ponytail disappearing behind the desk as she fell. He had buried the urge to laugh under his initial concern, but upon seeing her lying on the floor covered in flowers he hadn't been able to help a smile. The brilliant blonde seemed to have a knack for saying and doing things that embarrassed her, but Oliver had never minded. She had made him smile from the first time he had gone to see her in the IT department, spinning some story about a spilled latte as he handed over a laptop riddled with bullet holes. It had taken a while, after he got back from the island, before he could laugh. He knew he laughed more around Felicity than anyone else, and didn't take it for granted. Part of the reason he had moved her up into his office was that it would look suspicious if he spent a lot of time in the IT department once he was CEO, but another was just that he liked having her around. Another image of her wet blouse flashed in his mind, and he recalled the shock he had felt at the tug of desire that had shot through him as he noticed he could see completely through it, to the black and green lace. Green. He buried his head in his hands as he tried to push the image from his mind. His colour, the vigilantes colour, it looked good on Felicity he had to admit. She had never really worn much of it, he thought, then realized that he might just never have been able to see it, maybe she wore it under her clothes more than he knew. The thought brought him a jolt of lust that caused him physical pain, and he pushed it away. He couldn't, wouldn't think of Felicity that way.

Just as he managed to get a control on his hormones and try to get back to work, he heard the click of a door opening, and assumed Felicity was coming out of the bathroom at last. "Finally." He muttered with exaggerated impatience, "I was going to ask if you wanted to get something to eat when I came to find you. I'm star…" He trailed off when he looked up to see her wearing the coat he had brought her. She had let her hair down, and it fell softly around her shoulders, a look he hadn't seen her wear very often. But what struck him speechless was the fact that her legs, which were incredibly long for a woman of her height, were completely exposed. Her black trenchcoat cut off barely mid thigh, and the knee length black skirt she had been wearing when he found her was gone, revealing an expanse of creamy white skin he had never had the privilege, or the misfortune, judging on what it was doing to his insides, to see. He realized there was also no collar poking out from beneath the one of the coat, which dipped dangerously low. He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Felicity. What are you wearing?" He braced himself and opened his eyes, trying not to stare at the extra few inches of skin she was baring both on the top and bottom of her coat.

"I didn't have anything else. My clothes are completely soaked. I really need to start keeping a change of clothes here, knowing me I'm actually kind of surprised something like this didn't happen sooner." She let out a little self-deprecating laugh, then glanced in concern over at Oliver. "Hey, are you okay? I didn't make too much of a mess did I?"

She thought he was mad at her because she knocked over a vase. He rolled his eyes. She should know by now that Oliver was aware that Felicity and unexpected incidents were a package deal. He shook his head and got to his feet, swiping the turn off the monitor as he stood. "No, it's fine. Luckily you didn't break the vase, otherwise we could have bigger problems than your wet clothes." He took in the bundle of sopping fabric she held, and his gaze swept back to her, a frown settling on his face. "What are you wearing under there anyways, running shorts?" He knew he kept a spare outfit for working out in, even though he usually trained at the club, but he hadn't figured Felicity for a corporate gym kind of girl. He stared at her suspiciously as a flush crept across her face, extending to her exposed chest in a way that sent a flash of heat through his stomach.

"No, I, uh, don't keep any other clothes here. Like I said I should have known…" She plucked at the collar of her coat and shrugged. "This is it." As the meaning of what she said sunk in, Oliver turned away from her and struggled to get control of his face. He could practically feel his eyes bulging out of their sockets, and he took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Jesus, Felicity." He turned back towards her and shook his head. Impossibly, looking at her wearing that skimpy coat now was even harder than before, and he did his best to keep his gaze on her face.

"Well, hopefully none of your associates see me and think I'm a call girl." She sighed and he raised his eyebrows at her. He hadn't considered what she would look like walking out of the building with him in that, but he found that he really didn't care. "Did you say something about food? I forgot to eat lunch. Oh, can we get chinese from that place on the corner?" She walked towards the door as she spoke and his eyes followed the movement of her legs and she walked in front of him. When they passed her desk, she bent over to grab the remaining flowers off the floor, in the process exposing a dangerous amount of leg to Oliver. One inch higher and….

"Felicity!" Oliver warned, his voice coming out harsher than he meant. She straightened up and realized what she had almost done. Color once again flooded her face, and she looked away from him.

"Right, sorry, let's just…" She quickly moved past him towards the elevator, and he sighed. Without a backwards glance, he shut the door behind him, and tried to look anywhere but at the tiny slit in the back center of Felicity's coat as he followed her to the elevator. He tried to ignore the stirring in his stomach as she leaned over him to press the button for the lobby and her perfume filled his senses. He was in trouble, he knew. He didn't want to be with Felicity, not like that. It would be far too complicated. As he looked over at her, Oliver realized he could see directly down the front of her coat thanks to their immense height difference. He swallowed, hard. He didn't want to be with Felicity, he told himself again. He almost believed it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**

Wow thank you guys so much for the fast reviews! As soon as I finished the first chapter I knew I needed to keep going, those crazy kids just have too much they need to do. I'm procrastinating writing a paper right now, hence the quick update, so the next few might not be as quick. I hope you guys like this chapter, I have a feeling sexual tension is going to be the main theme in this story. Anyways, please read and review, I seriously love reading them and they keep me motivated to update! You guys are awesome!

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Felicity tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the elevator door to close. She was already embarrassed enough that Oliver was seeing her like this, she wasn't altogether sure she could stand the humiliation if anyone else from the company saw her. Just as the thought crossed her mind, a black heel slid in front of the door, holding it open. Looking up, Felicity hid a grimace when she realized the shoe belonged to Isabel Rochev. The tall brunette stepped into the elevator, raising her eyebrows as she took in Felicity's outfit. Without a word, she stood directly in front of Oliver, and bent over a little farther than was necessary to select her floor. Avoiding eye contact with either of them, Felicity shrank into the corner, and fixated on her cell phone. She tapped away at the screen, pulling up the progress of the update she was running on the computers in Oliver's office. She didn't tear her eyes away from the screen until she heard the ding of the doors opening, and prayed Isabel was getting off rather than some other executive coming in to witness her humiliation. She let out an audible sigh once Isabel had stepped out of the elevator and was out of earshot. Oliver's head turned towards her when he heard it, and she flushed. Of course now he would think she was jealous. He raised his eyebrows at her, amused, but she noticed the tense set of his jaw. "Hey, are you okay?" She frowned at him in concern.

"That… was just inconvenient." The color in Felicity's face deepened as she realized she had probably just embarrassed him in front of his girlfriend. Or conquest, she supposed, since he had said that their night together hadn't meant anything. Felicity spent most of her time trying not to think about what he had said that night, because the memory usually brought pain and rejection. And embarrassment, she thought ironically, looking down at the situation she was in now. She was shaken out of her sad little reverie when she realized Oliver was still talking. "She already thinks we're sleeping together. I don't think she would say anything, considering what happened, but still… inconvenient." Felicity frowned.

"But… you are." He stared at her. "Sleeping with her? Or not sleeping, probably, considering you guys are probably doing other stuff. And you know, you seem like you wouldn't need a lot of sleep, you seem to have great stamina. Oh, no, that came out wrong…" Felicity buried her head in her hands and heard Oliver chuckle. She sighed. As much as she hated making a fool of herself, and being laughed at, she loved to hear Oliver laugh. Even when it was at her expense, which was most of the time. When she finally raised her head to look at him, some of the tension in his jaw had dissipated. She stiffened. Had she really just commented on his stamina?

"No… Felicity, she thinks I'm sleeping with you." Oliver tilted his head as he looked down at her. Even with her four inch heels he towered over her. Felicity let out a noise of surprise, then shook her head.

"That's ridiculous. I mean, look at me. Besides, you're sleeping with _her_." She couldn't help the agitation she felt, this was sort of a sore subject for her. She hadn't expected to have to have this conversation again. She didn't really need the reminder that Oliver preferred tall, sexy brunettes over nerdy, blonde IT girls. She blew out an irritated sigh. she could feel Oliver's eyes on her, but didn't turn to face him. At this point in her day she found herself wishing she had never gotten out of bed that morning.

"We're not sleeping together." Oliver's voice was calm, as usual, and it made Felicity feel like a toddler having a temper tantrum.

"Yes, thank you, I am aware of that." She managed to conceal the bitterness she was feeling as she said it, but she blushed again despite herself.

"No, I mean me and Isabel. We're not sleeping together." It was Felicity's turn to roll her eyes.

"Okay, I know you lived on an island for five years and all, but I really didn't think that-" She was cut off as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. She stepped out into the parkade, glad it was dark,and that the man in the dark suit walking past her, who was obviously a superior of hers, couldn't see the extent of her lack of clothing. The dim lighting didn't stop him from running his eyes up her legs as she walked by him, and she felt an uncomfortable shiver run through her. The back of her legs itched as she could feel his eyes on them. Felicity let out a little squeak of surprise when she felt Oliver's hand on her back as he pushed her in front of him, and she let out a little sigh of relief at being out of that creep's line of sight. Resuming her previous line of thought, she swivelled back to face him. "I didn't think I needed to explain that by sleeping with I mean, you know," she gestured vaguely with her hands, "and I saw you guys in Russia. It was pretty obvious what you had been doing." She dropped her hands and studied his face. He looked tired, like he was as reluctant to have this conversation as she was.

"Thank you Felicity, I know what you meant." His lips quirked a little. "Although I enjoyed the-" He mimicked her earlier hand motions. She rolled her eyes. "I'm not saying I didn't sleep with her, I'm saying I'm not sleeping with her now. It was a one-time thing." The look he gave her was intense, and she wondered why he felt the need to tell her this. It was really none of her business. Of course, that hadn't stopped her from telling him she thought Isabel wasn't good enough for him, but that was before. Before he basically told her that nothing would ever happen between them. She bit her lip. "I don't think she would say anything, but if she did, it would ruin your reputation regardless of whether or not it's true. You're not exactly going to lose your job, I hear the owner of the company is pretty fond of you." He smiled. "But still, I wouldn't want to put you in that position." He stared down at her. She gulped.

"My reputation? Have you considered the fact that you're the CEO of a company that, no offense, is in serious trouble, and you have a hard enough time being taken seriously as it is? Shouldn't you be worried about what a rumour like that could do to your authority? Not to mention the fact that you really don't need to be making enemies with Isabel Rochev." Oliver snorted irritably. Did this woman have any sense of self-preservation at all? It seemed like she was always worried about him, never about herself.

"Why would I make an enemy out of Isabel. I know you're a genius but do you really think that lowly of my intelligence?" He asked, slightly incredulous. She must think he was an idiot.

"Oliver, if she thinks you're with me, she's going to be jealous. Which, once again, is ridiculous, because why would someone like her be jealous of me, but still. She obviously has some unresolved feelings for you." Oliver frowned. He hadn't really considered that. Isabel had been the one to put their night behind them, Oliver had happily agreed, but he wondered if Felicity was right.

"That doesn't make sense." He placed his hand on the small of her back and steered her around the corner. "She was the one who asked that we pretend like it never happened." As he stopped in front of his vehicle Felicity let out a noise of annoyance.

"Oliver! Really?" He turned to look at her, she was glaring at him in a way that made him feel like he was missing something.

"What?" He wasn't sure, but he didn't think she was talking about Isabel anymore.

"You didn't tell me you rode the bike here! I can't go on that." She eyed his sleek black motorcycle dubiously, and shook her head. She muttered something under her breath that he didn't quite catch.

"Uh… why?" He felt as though he was missing something fairly obvious. What was she going on about now? She gestured at her outfit, or lack thereof, and he groaned as he realized what she meant. "Damn. Okay, let's walk." He eyed her bare legs, as he had been trying not to do, and frowned. If they walked, she was going to be cold. Plus, it would basically put her on display for every creep in the street to stare at, and he almost growled at the thought. With a start, he wondered where the anger at that image came from. He chalked it up to wanting to protect her.

"No…" She sighed, and he got the sense she was having the same thoughts as him. "Let's just try and make this work. We can grab lunch and then you're taking me home to change." He raised his eyebrows at the order of events but didn't say anything. She took in his face and shrugged defensively. "I'm really hungry." He laughed, a full on, right down to his core, laugh, and marveled at how good it felt. God, he loved being around her. He hastily pushed the thought away, before it lead down a much more slippery slope.

"Alright, hop on." He threw a helmet at her, a little surprised when she caught it. Her reflexes had improved enormously since she had begun training with him and Diggle. After the incident with the count, Oliver hadn't given her a choice. There was no way he was letting her go anywhere without knowing how to defend herself anymore. Felicity moved tentatively towards the bike, and seemed to make a decision. She bit her lip again, a habit Oliver wished she would drop, as he found it incredibly distracting.

"Okay, just… keep your eyes forward." He smirked, but turned dutifully so he was facing the car parked across from him. He felt the bike sway gently beneath him as Felicity swung herself onto it, and then a small arm wrapped around his waist. Suddenly, she was pressed flush against his back, and he was painfully aware of the fact that there was nothing but a coat and few scraps of lace separating them. He felt a tremor as she leaned to one side, and nearly fell off the bike. His hand flashed out behind him to grab her, and he found himself with a handful of smooth, naked leg. Biting back a groan, he pulled her back into place, and kicked the bike to life. She wrapped both arms around him and pulled herself forward so she was holding him incredibly tightly.

"Felicity…" His voice was deeper than intended, and she let out a little squeak as she flipped up the visor of her helmet.

"Sorry, I just… I don't want my coat to come open." He reached behind him to flip her visor down, and twisted the throttle, while kicking up the stand. As they sped out of the underground parkade, his growl of frustration was drowned out by the roar of the bike.

Oliver slowed to a stop in front of Felicity's favorite chinese place, and set down the kickstand before sliding off the bike. When he turned around, Felicity had tugged off the helmet, and was shaking her hair loose. He felt what was now an uncomfortably familiar pang of lust as he drank in the picture of her sitting on his bike. Frustrated with himself, he held out a hand in front of him, gesturing towards the restaurant. "Do you care to join me, Felicity?" he gave her an appraising look. She glared at him.

"Well, I could use a hand. I don't really feel like flashing everyone on the block trying to climb off this thing by myself." He swore under his breath. He should have offered to help her, he knew he was acting like a jerk. He placed a hand on either side of her waist and lifted her into the air with ease. He set her back down onto the pavement and dropped his hands reluctantly. As she walked past him towards the restaurant, he noticed man passing by stop and stare lecherously at Felicity's exposed legs. Those legs were going to be the death of him. He narrowed his eyes at the man and cleared his throat. Caught, the man took a last lingering glance and resumed his route down the sidewalk. Fighting the urge to grab the tablecloth off of one of the outdoor tables and wrap Felicity in it, he started back towards the door. She was already heading inside, completely oblivious to the violation. Oliver ground his teeth. He really needed to take her home to put some clothes on.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, I'm really glad most of you are enjoying the story and I welcome the feedback! Please keep reviewing, and I'll try to update as quickly as I can, though I should mention I'm beginning finals and it might take a little longer than I'd like. You guys are amazing!**

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Felicity leaned back in her chair, humming with satisfaction. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was until the waiter had placed a plate of dumplings in front of her. After devouring most of them, along with two different orders of noodles, she pushed the plate away. "You need to take these away from me." She groaned, placing a hand on her stomach. Oliver laughed.

"Hey, are you going to be okay here by yourself for five minutes? There's something I need to do." When Felicity nodded, Oliver stood and dropped a credit card on the table. Felicity rolled her eyes,but didn't even attempt to argue with him. She had learned a long time ago not to try to pay for anything when she was with Oliver. While she usually didn't mind, what with him being a billionaire and all, she doubted that him buying her meals all the time was helping with the rumor that they were sleeping together. Felicity frowned thinking about it. She had worked extremely hard to get the reputation she had for being an IT genius. Taking the job as Oliver's assistant had been a step down in her career, and they both knew it. For what she believed to be the good of the city, she took the glorified secretary's job, and didn't complain. Well, much. But the idea of having everything she had ever worked for tainted by a reputation for sleeping her way up in the company didn't sit well with her.

Crossing her legs, she let out a startled gasp as the cold metal of the chair came in contact with her thigh. She looked down at her bare legs. Something about the combination of being with Oliver, whose presence had a way of making her feel safe and protected, and her singular focus on getting something into her stomach, had made her forget about her current state of undress.

With her stomach full, and Oliver not around to distract her, Felicity suddenly felt very exposed. Wishing she had ignored her stomach and stopped to get changed first, she dug around in her purse for her phone. She hoped Oliver was almost ready to go, she was growing more uncomfortable by the second.

The waiter came by, running Oliver's card and handing Felicity a receipt. Just as Felicity was debating whether to hide in the ladies room until Oliver returned, he appeared in front of her.

"Here." He shoved a shopping bag at her. Curious, Felicity peeked inside, surprised to see a bundle of dark green material.

"What's this?" She grabbed the garment and pulled it out of the bag. As it unfolded she realized it was a sheath dress. A very expensive one. "Oliver…" He was looking at her in a way that, somehow, made her feel even more naked.

"Just put it on." He nodded towards the bathroom. Felicity hesitated, but then figured she could argue with him about buying her things, and how it made them look, after she was dressed.

Once she was safely inside a bathroom stall, she slipped into the dress and sighed. The dress was beautiful, just her taste. And completely out of her budget. She would never be able to afford something like this for herself, even with the massive raise Oliver had given her along with her "promotion". She didn't want to get used to him buying her things. After making sure she hadn't left any tags on, she stepped out to look at the dress in the mirror. The lights were dim, but she smiled at her reflection. The dress fit her perfectly, which made her wonder how Oliver had known her size. She slipped her coat back on, leaving it open, and made her way back to their table.

Felicity was too focused on having that talk with Oliver about how he needed to stop paying for her and buying her things to notice the flash of heat in his eyes when she walked out. He smiled as she approached him. "It fits." She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, it does. Thank you, by the way. How did you know my size?" He shrugged, unconcerned.

"I guessed. You ready to go?" She nodded and let him lead her outside. Catching sight of the bike, she frowned.

"You couldn't have gotten me pants?" She huffed. Then, realizing what she had just said, clapped a hand to her mouth."I'm sorry. Not that this isn't a nice dress. It is. And obviously expensive. I probably sound totally ungrateful." She flushed, and fell silent. Oliver just watched her with amusement and shook his head.

"Actually, I thought about it. But I actually need to run an errand. I called Digg to pick you up and take you to your car." He flashed her that perfect playboy grin, but she wasn't to be distracted.

"We need to talk about what people are saying." He winced, obviously hoping to avoid the conversation.

"I know. I can't right now though. Why don't we talk tonight?" Felicity stared at him. "At Verdant?" Catching herself, she nodded. Of course he was talking about vigilante business. She mentally chastised herself for getting so caught up.

This whole business of blurred lines between their work and personal lives wasn't only confusing their coworkers, it was confusing Felicity as well. She knew Oliver wasn't interested in her, he had told her he couldn't be with anyone he cared about as long as he was the vigilante. Not that it mattered. Felicity knew he cared about her, but she was also painfully aware that his feelings for her were significantly more platonic than hers were towards him.

She forced a quick smile, then turned and walked away from him. The healthy thing to do in this situation would be to put some space between herself and Oliver. Unfortunately, space seemed to be about the only thing she couldn't get in this situation. Now that she was Oliver's assistant, she was with him all day and all night. The proximity, and endless hours of him parading around in front of her wearing either suits that made him look like a male model, or no shirt at all, were only exacerbating her feelings. It seemed like an impossible situation. She heard Oliver's bike roar to life, and fought the urge to turn around. After counting to thirty, she turned back to the street, and he was gone. She let out a little sigh of relief. She could think more clearly without him around. She wondered how long it would take Diggle to get to to restaurant, and was just about to call him to ask when someone bumped into her, knocking her phone out of her hands. It clattered to the pavement in front of her, and she let out a little growl of annoyance. She reached out to grab it, but another, larger, hand snaked in front of her and beat her to it.

Looking up, Felicity found herself staring into a pair of deep brown eyes fringed by long lashes. She felt a little of her irritation melt away.

"I'm so sorry." The brown eyes were talking, rather, the mouth underneath them was. In a sexy british accent no less. Felicity blinked and took in the man standing in front of her. He was tall, tall enough that she had to crane her neck to look into those eyes. He was dressed in dark jeans that, she had to admit, fit him very nicely. His crisp white button down was left open at his neck, dipping low enough to expose a very nice clavicle. God. When exactly did clavicles become so sexy? He cleared his throat. "I didn't see you down there. I wasn't watching where I was going, and..." He gave her a winning smile, flashing perfectly white teeth. Felicity found herself scrambling for words.

"I'm short? I mean-" She shook her head, mortified. What was happening to her ability to form coherent sentences? "I know I'm short. I just… you said. Um. I'm Felicity." She held out her hand, deciding it would be best to clamp her lips tightly shut until the urge to babble subsided. She waited for a moment, hesitating when the stranger with long, dark hair that curled around his strong jaw didn't take it. Then he reached forward, and Felicity almost let out an audible sigh of relief, that is, until he dropped her phone into the hand she was holding out. She felt her cheeks flush scarlet, and tried to fight the wave of embarrassment from showing on her face.

"Uh t-thanks." She mumbled, backing up. She started when she felt a hand on her shoulder and felt a second surge of relief when she was met with Diggle's face as she swivelled to see whose it was. "Thank god." She sighed under her breath, and Digg raised his eyebrows at her. She gave him a look that said, simply, that she would explain in the car. He headed back to the car, and Felicity bit her lip. She gave the stranger a small, awkward smile, and opened the door to the back seat.

"Felicity!" She spun around, and found the sexy british man much closer than he had been a second ago. "Let me take you to dinner. To apologize." She felt her mouth fall open, and hastily closed it.

"I don't even know your name." She had been about to blurt that she would love to have dinner with him, and had caught herself just in time. She didn't know anything about this guy. If her nightlife had taught her anything, it was that the city was full of creeps. She needed to be careful. He smiled.

"I'm James. Kelly. I'm a lawyer with Kelly and McAllister." He gestured to the building beside the restaurant. Felicity sighed. She was about to open her mouth to turn him down, when he held out his hand. She eyed it in surprise. "And I would love to take you out." She let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Screw it. A girl needed to take risks every now and then.

"I-okay." She smiled tentatively and took the hand he offered. He flashed that blinding smile again, and she laughed. "I guess you need my number." His grin widened.

"Actually, I texted myself from your phone." His eyes crinkled as he laughed. Felicity tried not to act too taken aback.

"You're sure of yourself, aren't you?" Her smile turned rueful. Her train of thought was disrupted as she heard a shout come from inside the car, and she realized she was still holding the door open.

"Felicity, sometime today!" Digg sounded annoyed, but Felicity knew him well enough to know he was probably totally amused by the whole situation.

"Okay, yeah." She muttered. She glanced at James.

"A girl who as beautiful as you? I had to try didn't I?" He murmured, bringing her hand to his lips. She froze. Who the hell was this guy? She gave him a flustered smile, then gently pulled her hand away and slid into the car. She bit her lip again, slightly harder than before.

"I guess I'll see you later." She shut the door and slumped against the seat. She heard a chuckle from the front seat as the car pulled away from the curb.

"Just drive." She huffed. As they drove, she dreamt of getting home and falling onto the couch in her sweatpants. She was in serious need of some PVR time. It had been an extremely long day.

"Oliver's gonna be pissed." Digg's voice floated from the front seat.

"What are you talking about?" Felicity scooted forward slightly so she could pop her head forward into the front seat. She frowned.

"Uh, nothing. Put your seatbelt on." He gave her a stern look, but quickly returned his eyes to the road. Felicity rolled hers. Sitting back against the seat, she inspected her phone.

There didn't seem to be any damage, aside from a small scratch across the screen, which didn't worry her. She took good care of all her electronics, and the screen protector she had installed on her phone would be easy to change. She turned it on, and felt her eyes starting to droop as it played a familiar chime and started up. She had a few new messages, and she stifled a yawn as she scrolled through them. A few from Oliver about work, and two from Digg, telling her he was waiting for her. When she had gotten through those she noticed a text from a number she didn't recognize. She opened it and had to suppress an embarrassingly girly giggle.

_Dinner tomorrow?_

_ P.S. I hope your phone is alright. Otherwise I may end up eating alone, in a very romantic restaurant._

_- James_

Curling into a ball, Felicity let the sound of traffic lull her to sleep. The smile never left her face, even when her phone slipped out of her hand onto the floor, and she slipped into sleep.


End file.
